Rates, types and co-occurrence of emotional and behavioural disorders among perinatally HIV-infected youth in Uganda: the CHAKA study

PURPOSE:
To describe the rates, types and comorbidity of emotional and behavioural disorders among perinatally HIV-infected children and adolescents attending care at five HIV youth clinics in Central and Southwestern Uganda.

RESULTS:
According to caregiver or youth report, the prevalence of 'any DSM-5 psychiatric disorder' was 17.4% (95% CI 15.4-19.5%), while that of 'any behavioural disorder' was 9.6% (95% CI 8.1-11.2%) and that of 'any emotional disorder' was 11.5% (95% CI 9.9-13.3%). The most prevalent behavioural disorder was attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (5.3%), while the most prevalent emotional disorder was separation anxiety disorder (4.6%). The statistically significant risk factors were: for behavioural disorders, sex (more among males than females) and age group (more among adolescents than among children); for emotional disorders, age group (more among adolescents than among children) and the caregiver's highest educational attainment (more among CA-HIV with caregivers with secondary education and higher, than among CA-HIV with caregivers with no formal education or only primary level education). About a quarter (24.5%) of CA-HIV with at least one emotional disorder and about a third (33.5%) of the CA-HIV with at least one behavioural disorder had a comorbid psychiatric disorder.

CONCLUSION:
There was a considerable burden of psychiatric disorders among CA-HIV that spanned a broad spectrum and showed considerable comorbidity.